for the year 1902 of the whole of the taxable property of said town of Caswell, as shown by the assessment rolls for the said year 1902.

Assets and liabilities apportioned. SECTION 8. The assets and liabilities of the said town of Wabeno to be apportioned to the said town of Laona shall bear the same ratio to the whole of said assets and liabilities of said town of Wabeno as the assessed valuation for the year 1902 of the taxable property of the above detached territory from said town of Wabeno bears to that of the assessed valuation for the year 1902 of the whole of the taxable property of said town of Wabeno, as shown by the assessment rolls for the said year 1902.

First town meeting, when and where held; appointment of inspectors. SECTION 9. The qualified electors of the town of Hiles shall meet at the office and store building of F. P. Hiles, near the sawmill now being constructed by said F. P. Hiles on section ten, in township thirty-seven north, of range twelve east, in said town of Hiles, on the day appointed by law for the holding of annual town meetings and the election of town officers in this state. The qualified electors of the town of Laona shall meet at Sargent's hall at Laona, located on the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section thirty, township thirtysix north, of range fifteen east, in said town of Laona, on the day appointed by law for the holding of annual town meetings and the election of town officers in this state. The qualified electors of said towns, respectively, shall at such town meeting in the manner provided by law elect town officers for the said respective towns, and for the purpose of said town election the qualified voters in each of said towns, respectively, shall between the hours of nine and eleven o'clock in the forenoon of said day choose three of their number to act as inspectors of the election, and such inspectors shall before entering on their respective duties severally take and file the usual oath of office and file the same with their returns, and such inspectors shall respectively canvass and return the votes cast at such election in all respects as provided by law for inspectors at annual town meetings. And the qualified electors so assembled at the respective places aforesaid may vote for judicial officers to be chosen on the same day and the votes cast for such judicial officers, whether for justices of the supreme court. judge of the circuit court or county judge, or all of them, shall be counted. canvassed and returned in the same manner and shall have the same effect as if said towns of Hiles and Laona were fully and completely organized.

When towns deemed organized. SECTION 10. When such election shall have been held as herein provided and the town officers of the respective towns required by law elected and such offiers, respectively, have qualified, as required by law, the said towns of Hiles and Laona shall be deemed and shall be duly organized, and shall possess all the rights, powers, privileges and liabilities of other towns in this state.

Township system of school government established; board of directors. SECTION 11. The township system of school government shall be operative and in force in said towns of Laona and Hiles at and from the time this act goes into effect until such time as the same shall be abolished in the manner provided by law. The territory hereby detached from said towns of Caswell, Crandon, North Crandon and Wabeno shall, from the organization of said towns of Hiles and Laona, respectively, be completely severed from and independent of said towns of Caswell, Crandon, North Crandon and Wabeno, or any school distriet, joint school district, sub-district, or joint sub-district therein, for school purposes, and such detached territory shall be annexed of formed into such sub-districts in said towns of Hiles, Laona and Wabeno, respectively, as the board of school directors of said towns of Hiles, Laona and Wabeno shall respectively order. And the clerks of the various school districts and sub-districts, together with the clerks of the joint school districts and joint sub-districts, the school houses of which are situated in said towns, respectively, shall constitute the first board of directors in each of said towns, and they shall meet and organize within two weeks after the organization of each said town and hold their offices until the next annual meeting of the sub-districts of each said town.

SECTION 12.

Authority of county board not abridged. Nothing in any of the provisions of this act, or any other act, shall be so construed as to abridge any of the powers of the county board of supervisors of Forest county to set off, organize, vacate or change the boundaries of any of the towns created by, or mentioned in, this act at any time hereafter in accordance with the powers conferred by law upon county boards by virtue of the laws of the state of Wisconsin.

Conflicting laws repealed. SECTION 13. Any and all acts or parts of acts in any manner conflicting with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed.

SECTION 14. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage and publication.

Approved March 27, 1903.

No. 144, S.]

[Published March 30, 1903.

CHAPTER 37.

AN ACT relating to the duties, qualifications and salary of the state superintendent.

The people of the state of Wisconsin represented in senate and assembly do enact as follows:

Qualifications; oath of office. SECTION 1. No person shall be eligible to the office of state superintendent of public instruction, who shall not, at the time of his election thereto, have taught or supervised teaching in the state of Wisconsin, for a period not less than five years, and who shall not, at such time, hold the highest grade of certificate which the state superintendent is by law empowered to issue. He shall, within twenty days after he receives notice of his election, and before entering upon the duties of his office, take and subscribe the constitutional oath of office, which shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state.

Supervisory duties generally. SECTION 2. He shall have general supervision over the common schools of the state, and it shall be his duty:

School work. 1. To ascertain, so far as practicable, the conditions of the public schools of the state; to stimulate interest in education; to spread as widely as possible, through public addresses, bulletins, and by conferences with school officers, teachers and parents, a knowledge of methods which may be employed to introduce desirable improvements in the organization, government and instruction of the schools:

School books. 2. To prohibit the use of sectarian books and sectarian instruction in the public schools; to advise in the se

lection of books for school district libraries; to prepare as often as he shall deem necessary, a list of books suitable for school district libraries, and furnish copies of such lists to each town, village, or city clerk, or secretary of the board of education, and to each county or city superintendent, from which lists the above designated officers shall select and purchase all books for use in the school libraries of the state.

Educational meetings. 3. To attend such educational meetings and make such investigations as he may deem important, and such as may enable him to obtain information relating to the different systems of common schools in the United States, said information to be embodied in his biennial report to the state legislature.

Public sentiment. 4. To endeavor to arouse an intelligent interest among the people of the state in the general subject of industrial and commercial education, including manual training, agriculture, and domestic science, and to awaken and educate public sentiment for the suitable introduction of these subjects into the public schools, and to make such inspection and investigation as may be necessary for the intelligent supervision of the work therein.

Supervision. 5. To exercise general supervision over the establishment and management of county schools of agriculture and domestic science, manual training schools, county training schools for teachers, and the day schools for the deaf; to advise with the principals and local authorities thereof and to formulate courses of study for such schools; to embody in his biennial report or in special bulletins or circulars such statements, suggestions, and statistics as he may deem useful and for the information of the public.

Publications. 6. To revise, codify and edit the school laws from time to time, as circumstances may make necessary, and by lectures, circulars, correspondence, and public addresses, give the public information bearing upon the different systems of school organization and management, provided by law in this state; to prescribe rules and regulations for the management of school district libraries, and the penalty which may be imposed by district boards for any violation thereof; to prepare for the use of school officers suitable forms for making reports and conducting various proceedings necessary to the proper conduct of annual and special meetings; to prepare and publish

from time to time, as occasion may require, courses of study for ungraded, state graded, and free high schools, with such comments and instructions as may be deemed essential for an intelligent understanding thereof on the part of the school officers, teachers, and others interested; to compile, edit, and distribute to the schools annually, in pamphlet form, matter adapted to and suitable for the intelligent observance of Arbor and Bird day and of Memorial day; the printing of reports, pamphlets and circulars, published for any and all of these purposes, to be done by the state printer at the expense of the state.

Appeals. 7. To examine and determine all appeals, which by law may be made to him according to the rules regulating such matters, and to prescribe rules of practice in respect thereto, not inconsistent with law.

Educational works. S. To collect in his office such school books, apparatus, maps, and charts, as may be obtained without expense to the state; to purchase at an expense not exceeding one hundred and fifty dollars in any one year, to be paid out of the state treasury, works and periodicals bearing upon the different phases of education.

School fund income. 9. To apportion and distribute the school fund income as provided by law.

Copies of record. 10. To make copies when required by any person so to do, of any papers deposited or filed in his office, and of any act or decision made by him, and to certify the same, provided he may demand therefor twelve cents per folio, which fee shall be paid into the state treasury.

Report. 11. To prepare in each even numbered year a report to be delivered by him to the governor on or before the thirty-first day of December, containing:

1. An abstract of all the common school reports received by him from the several county and city superintendents.

2. A statement of the condition of the common schools, the state graded schools, the city graded schools, the free high schools and independent high schools, the manual training schools, the schools established for the purpose of giving instruc tion in agriculture and domestic science, the county training schools for teachers, the day schools for the deaf, the state normal schools and the state university, and such other schools as may be hereafter established by law.